Flashback – Part I

"Where am I…?"

All I can see is a pitch-black world around me that is moving and at the same time not moving. I can't see this world but somehow I can perceive this place. It's like I am floating in a confined space that is expanding infinitely as if diving deeper and deeper into the ocean. My five senses were blocked out and I don't have a hand or legs. To put this feeling in one word "utter chaos" would be best to explain my feelings as well as what I can perceive.

I found myself waking up after an unknown length of time. As I opened my eyes, I felt rejuvenated, as if I had just emerged from a restful slumber. Gradually, my senses began to function again, allowing me to perceive the world around me.

Attempting to open my eyes fully, I realized that my eyelids were heavy and it took some effort to open them. However, as soon as I managed to do so, a bright light flooded my vision and caused my eyes to start burning. Involuntarily, my mouth twisted into a frown and I closed my eyes tightly to alleviate the discomfort.

I could hear voices calling out to me in desperation - "Hirata...Hirata..." - and another voice moving away, shouting "Doctor...doctor..." It took me a while to distinguish between the voices. Eventually, I realized that the person calling out my name was my mother, and the other voice belonged to Tsunade. Attempting to respond, I discovered that I was unable to speak; no words would come out.

Just then another voice came towards me, "Take it easy and don't stress out… just be at ease."

Then my mother asked the doctor, "Doctor what happened to him."

"He has recently awoken from a long slumber and therefore needs time to adjust. It may take a couple of days or less for his body to fully acclimate. However, until he has fully adjusted, he should not push himself too hard, as doing so could lead to lingering after-effects. I need to conduct a check-up to assess the state of his body."

Following a thorough examination, the doctor said to my mom, "The recovery progress was positive and he may be able to leave the hospital in a few days if the recovery continues at the same pace. Farewell mam, have a pleasant day."

Four more days went by, and my routine remained unchanged. I spent my days sleeping on my back, eating in bed, and sleeping some more. However, on the fifth day, I woke up to find that Grandma Mito had come to visit me for the second time. As I looked at her sitting next to me, my lips curved into a smile and I greeted her with the words, "How are you, grandma?"

She regarded me with a serious expression and said, "You have quite the nerve to laugh at a time like this."

I felt a sense of guilt for causing worry to everyone around me. Although everyone was putting on a façade of being fine, the fact that my grandmother Mito had come to visit me indicated the gravity of the situation, for which I held myself responsible. My head hung low as I said, "I'm sorry, Grandma."

She maintained her serious tone and said, "It's good that you have acknowledged your mistake. A good man never bites off more than he can chew. Do you understand?"

I simply nodded in agreement and said, "Yes."

"Good. Now, let's start from day one and talk about everything until the very end," she instructed.

Grandma Mito, my mother Tsunade, the Third Hokage, and others were all waiting for me to speak. As I looked at them, I took a deep breath and began to recall the events that had occurred after I had left on my mission.

"Upon leaving for my mission, I sensed that someone was following me. To avoid detection, I created clones to masquerade as a group of merchants and infiltrated the village covertly. While gathering intelligence on the village's activities, I encountered the 'Twin Reapers' and successfully eliminated them. It was later revealed that they had been working with the village head. While I am tailing the man dressed in black; my clones made contact with the village head and proposed a deal in exchange for compensating for the loss of the 'Twin Reapers'. The village head agreed and divulged more information about the current situation.

As we conversed and enjoyed our drinks, I (my clones) surreptitiously used an herb known for its ability to create illusions. Soon after, the village head began to divulge details as if doing so intentionally. Meanwhile, I discovered that men dressed in black were planning to carry out terrorist activities in Kisaragi village.

Upon verifying the information from both parties, I confirmed that the village head believed he was utilizing an unknown organization, whereas the men in black were using him to incite chaos in the Land of Fire.

On the night before the attack, I proceeded to assassinate all the major officials. However, while carrying out my mission, I detected the presence of two additional individuals in an adjacent room. Curious, I decided to investigate their identities and discovered that they were members of an unknown organization.

I was able to eliminate one of them, but the other proved to be a formidable opponent who was evenly matched with me. Instead of killing me, he chose to flee. I pursued him to uncover the location of their hidden base, but it turned out to be a trap and I fell into it.

As he entered the underground passage, it began to crumble and close the passage. Fortunately, I was able to enter before it fully closed. I walked through the long passage in search of an exit, which led me to a spacious dome-like chamber. The chamber had three additional passages connected to it.

Upon taking three steps into the chamber, the trap seal on both sides of the underground passage I had entered was triggered. In the center of the chamber, there was a large fuinjutsu seal that activated a genjutsu.

The ground beneath my feet had crumbled and given way, creating the sensation of a sinkhole opening up. As I fell, the wind whipped past me, tearing at my clothing and hair, causing me to lose control of my body in mid-air.

The surrounding scenery began to blur, and it seemed as though I were falling for an eternity. Despite my attempts to slow my descent, it was to no avail. Suddenly, I found myself hurtling toward the ground, and there was no way to stop it. I braced myself for the impending impact.

Instead of hitting the hard ground, I found myself plunging into the cold and dark waters of the ocean. Initially, I felt relieved as the water was cool and soothing, giving me a glimmer of hope that I might have escaped the genjutsu.

However, as I sank deeper into the ocean, I realized that this was yet another part of the illusion. The water was pressing against my body, making it difficult to breathe. Despite my best efforts, I found myself sinking deeper and deeper, and my attempts to swim were hindered by the heaviness and unresponsiveness of my limbs, rendering my movements slow and sluggish.

As if things couldn't get any worse, the water surrounding me began to boil and heat up to the point where it could boil my body. Suddenly, I was lifted out of the water, and I was falling again into the air. This time, I landed on a red-hot rock surrounded by rivers of magma.

The air was filled with gases released from the magma, which burned my nasal and throat passages, making it difficult to breathe and causing headaches, dizziness, and an increased heart rate.

The ground beneath me slowly moved into the magma river, and I felt a searing pain as I was pulled down into a lake of lava. The intense heat caused my skin to burn and blister, and I screamed in agony with no relief in sight. I knew that I was going to die, and there was nothing I could do to escape this hellish fate.

As I felt my body disintegrating in the intense heat, I closed my eyes and tried to recall the teachings of my sensei on how to break free from this genjutsu. With a sudden burst of willpower, I found the strength to break the illusion by disrupting the flow of chakra.

I focused on my connection with the clones that were outside, feeling their danger through our link. Quickly, I passed my thoughts to them, sharing a possible way to break the genjutsu before my time ran out. I had less than ten seconds to act before I died.

My concept was to disperse my clones simultaneously, as the chakra they held would return to me upon their disappearance. While this alone was not enough to disrupt the chakra flow, the violent nature of the returned chakra from four clones would be sufficient to break the genjutsu.

I knew it was a risky move that could damage my chakra vessels, but I had no other options. It was better than doing nothing and having no chance at survival.

With a burst of willpower, I successfully broke the genjutsu. Upon opening my eyes, I found myself lying safely on the ground. Taking a deep breath of relief, I vowed to never again fall victim to a genjutsu."

After sharing my story, I raised my gaze to observe the reactions of those around me. Up until that point, I had kept my head down while recounting the events. Upon looking around, I noticed tears streaming down the faces of my mom and Tsunade, who both remained silent so as not to interrupt my flow. Even Grandma Mito and the third Hokage appeared to be holding back tears. However, my sensei Shimura Danzo maintained his usual poker face, not indicating any emotions. While it may have seemed as though he was indifferent, the fact that he was present at this moment spoke to his concern.

I was suddenly embraced by Tsunade, who held me so tightly while she cried out loudly, that it caused pain throughout my body. Although it was difficult, I simply endured it. I softly patted her head and apologized, "I'm sorry..."

As the elders watched us, their elation became apparent, and the overall mood in the room shifted to a lighter tone.

Grandma Mito was the first to speak. "Based on your explanation, I can conclude that they used the S-rank genjutsu known as 'Five Elements of Death: Technique of the Depths of Sin.' This technique vanished over two centuries ago, along with its user. For it to resurface now suggests that the origins of this organization are anything but simple. Either the organization itself or the power behind it is formidable enough to endanger the balance of our world."

As the gravity of the situation dawned on everyone, the mood in the room grew somber once more. My mother, Tsunade, and the others present were visibly frightened. Grandma Mito, the Third Hokage, and my sensei Danzo became solemn and lost in their thoughts. The room was filled with an eerie silence as if everyone had turned into statues.

After contemplating, Grandma Mito let out a sigh and said, "You must truly be favored by the heavens since you were able to survive being burnt to a crisp and escape death's grasp. Fortunately, you were able to evade death, but let's put this matter to rest now."

As everyone listened to Grandma Mito, they all nodded in agreement with her. However, I interrupted their thoughts and said, "If it were really that simple, I wouldn't have found myself in this situation. I would have completed the mission and reported back that very same night."

All at once, everyone expressed shock and asked, "Is there more to this?"

I nodded and replied, "Yes, this is only part one, and there is still a part two to come."